How weird are a lot of things when you compare the way things were pre-covid and post-covid?! Before Covid-19 there were a number of years when I had absolutely fantasized about coming to Dae Bak to enjoy some spicy Korean cuisine, only for me to end up being COMPLETELY side-tracked over all of the other tantalizing food options that the Chinatown Square food truck had to offer! But when I finally got around to making my second Philly Chinatown visit during *sort of* post-Covid-19, I couldn't help but shed a tear over how gutted Chinatown Square was outside of the three businesses that were open! Hopefully, this changes for the better soon, and Surreal Creamery moving in could be the first move towards this. But, back when Chinatown Square was at maximum capacity Dae Bak was its centerpiece, and with the fantastic food, great service, and wonderful view of Chinatown from the window, I soon understood why. With noodles, hot pots, stews, rice dishes, and then some, its one of those menus where you'll want to order all the things! But to start things off we definitely needed dumplings, and whether you go fried, steamed, or with sweet and spicy sauce their mandu is perfection! With the weather not at its best soup and spicy was definitely in order. and the Champong delivered both in spades with delicious noods and ALL THE SEAFOOD! A good Korean restaurant surprises you with all kinds of extra mini dishes, and Dae Bak did not disappoint with spicy kimchi, bean sprouts, fresh coconut, mushrooms, and then some! Hopefully next time I come more of Chinatown Square will be restored to its former glory. But even if it isn't I know that Dae Bak will deliver a win! read more

Good service. The place itself in the Chinatown location is has very many space and ambiance. Food is very good especially the side dishe

Loved the side dishes - the egg was our favorite, it was silky and melted in the mouth! Dolsot Bibim Bap: Pretty bland, the only flavoring came from sauce that was served on the side. Also, barely any meat! Fa Dak (Soy Sauce) / Korean Style Fried Chicken: Definitely our favorite dish - the sauce was super flavorful! They used dark meat so the chicken was juicy and the green onions added a refreshing touch. read more

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One of my favorite Korean restaurants in Chinatown. The food can be a bit pricey but it is delicious and pretty authentic. Service is quick and the space is large and can accommodate for large parties. read more

Dae Bak - Side dishes - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wow. Wow. Wow. I am impressed. I was craving Korean food delivery and the food honestly reminded of what I would get it I was there! I got ddukbboki, spicy squid bowl, tangsooyook, fish roe stew and naengmyun. Every single dish was so delicious. Ddukboki - loved the flavors. I wish the rice cakes were bigger and longer but I was pleased by the dish Spicy squid bowl - def could use more squid but good flavors Tangsooyook - loved that they packaged this dish separate of the sauce. Flavors were yummy and pork was cooked well Fish roe stew - I could have used a deeper and spicier broth but all in all it was nostalgic and reminded me of getting it in Korea Naengmyun - unfortunately it was packaged on the way bottom so the noodles became over cooked halfway of eating it but the first 15 min were amazing! Good sauce, good beef and good noodles. Loved the pear and radish I honestly thought there was no good Korean delivery in the fort but Dae Bak is it!! Will be my go to from now on read more

The food is great! Would recommend. Side dishes are yummy. Everything was so good. Service was great. read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Food was hot and good! Sizzling when it came out. The side dishes were great as well - we got 2 rounds of sides read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

We ordered the seafood pancake and kimchi beef stew. Both were fresh and hot, with flavors complimenting each other. The portions were large for the price and the meal was delicious. Highly recommend ! read more

Dae Bak - We ordered the seafood pancake and beef tofu stew... Both menu items were fresh and hot. Their portions were decent for the prices! - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Daebak is now my go-to Korean restaurant in Philly-- so many options, and so good! I went here because my friend religiously orders them on Doordash and recommended it to me. Best recommendation! We ordered the Army Stew (Budaejiggae), Seafood Pancake (Haemul Pajeon), Bossam, and Black Bean Noodles (Jajjangmyeon). Army stew was good but one complaint is that there's not enough ingredients inside it (in terms of quantity and variety). No complaints for everything else. Everything was so tasty, big portions, and good plating! The prices are okay, not too pricey not too cheap. The place is upstairs above the Halal Guys and can be easy to miss, but is worth the stairs up. I will 100% be coming back to try their other dishes! read more

Dae Bak - Army stew (1D. Budae Jungol), Seafood Pancake (Hae Mul Pajeon), and Pork (11E. Bossam) - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

my go to korean restaurant in philly. Their seafood pajeon is always made so fresh and packed with seafood that pairs amazingly with their seasoned soy dipping sauce. Their jigaes are also top notch and are so comforting on cold days, being so savory and bold in flavor. their cold noodles are also so refreshing and pairs perfectly with their korean fried chicken or their jeyuk bokkum. This place boasts of a homey, korean family dinner spot, where you feel and are treated like part of their family. read more

Very good Korean restaurant in Philly. Highly recommend if you are visiting Philly and are craving some quick Korean food. read more

Dae Bak - 2B. Mixed Tofu Stew soooo good highly recommend. They offer a variety of spice levels and the flavor is really good - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A nice spot in Chinatown. Restaurant space has lots of tables for larger groups. Staff was incredibly friendly and very knowledgeable of the menu. We started with a bunch of appetizers, all were fantastic. Food came out so quick. I wasn't crazy about the sweet and spicy chicken which was my entree, it was a lot of food and I liked the sauce but the chicken was a little gummy. Every other entree I tried was really good. Prices are reasonable. Definitely worth a visit. read more

Dae Bak - Scallion Pancake - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Hotpot came out very fast, we had good service with an attentive waiter. The hotpot is a bit expensive but I think it's meant for 2-3 people because it came out with a lot of food and bowls of rice. The japchae was great- good flavor and texture of noodles. Nice clean space. Would recommend. read more

Dae Bak - Seafood hot pot - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Great Korean restaurant in Philadelphia. Loved it all. The fried chicken, the tofu soup, the egg dish. The restaurant is on the 2nd floor. I have zero complaints. read more

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Amazing service and food! Cute spot in Chinatown upstairs above surreal. Love coming here on the weekdays :) read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Second visit: Today I wanted to reorder the Bossam since I liked it so much last time. We called in ahead of time and someone picked up just to tell us they "didn't have it"? So we were pretty confused, cause it said it was available on UberEats. Once we placed the order on UberEats, it said they had it! Kinda confusing. I was a bit disappointed this time, as the meat was like 75% FAT :') I'll attach a picture as an example! read more

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The food is so amazing! Love the customer service and ambience. Would definitely come back again. Highly recommend! read more

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A few months ago I ate here with my sister and we come often but when we were about to leave, our server who was a shorter man with a face mask and somewhat of bowl cut, stopped us and asked for a bigger tip. He claimed that we tipped less than 10% but when me and my sister did the math later we tipped around 15% without the extra few dollars we gave. He had a curt personality with everyone, not just us. Me and my sister are both just students and we do like the food at dae bak. So just watch out for a server that I described. read more

food was soggy and the guy was rude and tryna force us to tip food came out late and he threw my receipt because I didn't wanna tip 10 bucks

the food was delicious and the service was amazing!! highly recommend was not disappointed!!! read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I've been here multiple times and though it's not the best Korean food, it satisfies my cravings and I do finish most food on my plate when I visit here once every few months. Beef fried rice - 4/5 it's good and hard to mess this one up. Naengmyeong - 5/5 though I had to ask for the gochujang to make it spicy. Seafood Pajeon - 4/5 very thick, dense, and chewy (I'm used to the thin and crispy versions) but delicious with the soy sauce Jajangmyeon - 3/5, sauce was clumpy at some parts, noodles were too thin and soft from being a bit overcooked. The flavor was accurate though. Tangsuyuk - 3/5, like the jajangmyeon, the flavor was there but the ratio of meat vs. vegetables vs sauce was so off. There wasn't enough meat OR vegetables to justify the price imo and there was so much sauce it became a soup. Overall, they reliably hit the flavor cravings for Korean food and with such limited Korean choices in Philly, this place is a staple of mine to revisit. read more

My best friend introduced me to this place a few months ago after we had a nice, relaxing day at the spa. We ordered a whole bunch of dishes (seafood pancake, LA Galbi, beef soondubu, and jajangmyeon - yes, it's a *weird* mixture of dishes but we were STARVING! Everything was delicious. Their banchan was standard - their kimchi was delicious (not too fermented, still crunchy). I wish the seafood pancake was a bit more seasoned and crispy on the edges, but it was still pretty decent. Their galbi is flavorful, chewy, and had the right amount of fat. Their soondubu was a good spice level (could've been a bit spicier imo) but didn't have much beef in it. The jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) was amazing - it reminded me of the noodles I had back in K-town NY. Overall, delicious dishes for a reasonable price but nothing was especially memorable for us. We would still come back though if we're in the area! read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Really great service and the food came out fast too. Their tofu stew tasted amazing g and the portions are a pretty good size that left us full. read more

Dae Bak - Really great tofu stew! Service was great here top and fast. - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I was craving Korean fried chicken and someone recommended this place. It's a little hidden, casual spot but we found it. The portions were HUGE! We got the rice cakes and fish cakes for an app and the sweet and spicy fried chicken for our main. The server saw my bf watching the Phillie's game on his phone and put it on the tv which was super sweet. Everything was just overly sweet. The rice cakes were supposed to be sweet and spicy but was mostly sweet. The sweet and spicy chicken was extremely sweet. My bf is sensitive to super spicy items and he didn't even taste any spice. It was unbearably sweet for me. I'd probably try a different place when I have a craving. read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Yummy seafood pancake, the fried rice was really tasty with the kimchee. The bulgogi was a little watery for me, wish it would have been more meat and had a good glaze sauce. read more

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Situated on the 2nd floor of a food court area, this is a cool Korean restaurant in Chinatown. We've gotten take-out from here in the past but this was my first dine-in experience. As usual, we try not to over-order but are general fans of trying multiple things. As a result, we ordered too much food here! We ordered the seafood pancake as an appetizer which reminded me of bacailitos in the Puerto-Rican culture. So yummy. We also ordered fried gyozas which were delicious and fried perfectly. For dinner, we ordered the Galbi ribs, and spicy pork. I was so full by the time the entrees came out but could not stop picking at the pork. So freaking good. We also each ordered soju but would probably split one next time since we didn't realize how large they were. Service was attentive and friendly. Great experience at Dae Bak. read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Best Korean food I've ever had! So comforting and delicious. please come here this was so good!

Food was on par with other Korean restaurants but pretty pricey. Seafood pancake was very good but the tofu soup was average. Overall, solid place if you're looking for Korean food in Chinatown read more

Dae Bak - Seafood pancake, tofu soup with beef, marinated pork, dokbokki - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It's been awhile since I've had Korean food. Since Philly has a Chinatown, I thought this place will probably be legit... Dae Bak is located in a 2-story center and is located upstairs. For being a large facility, you would think the place would be air-conditioned... it is not. Dae Bak takes cash or card. If you pay with cash, you receive a discount. Just like any Korean restaurant, they provide you with an unlimited amount of side dishes to complement your meal. We started with the Seafood Scallion Pancake. I'm not sure why they would cut it like a Pizza... you can ask for them to cut it into squares. The Seafood Scallion Pancake is perfect for any seafood lover. You will find squid and other bits of seafood in your pancake. For my entree, I ordered the Jeyuk Dolsot (Marinated Pork) Bibimbap. It was extremely flavorful and tender. If you aren't a fan of spicy, this is a fair warning-- this is a hot one. We also ordered a side of the Bulgogi. I'm not sure how you can ruin Bulgogi, but here we are. The flavor was extremely off. It was so awful, we trekked half-way across the country, only to realize, we didn't want it, even if we were starving... read more

Dae Bak - Left to right: Seafood Scallion Pancake, 2E. Bulgogi, & 4C. Jeyuk Dolsot Bibim Bap - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dae Bak has such a delicious assortment of Korean food. Stopped by bc we happened to be in chinatown and I was craving Sul lang tang. A simple oxtail soup but it is so so delicious. Add a bit of salt and a bit of space and it's perfect. Husband ordered the Jeyuk Dolsot Bibim Bap which is the spicy pork in the hot stone bowl. He said it was delicious and not overly spicy like other places he's had it. My son ordered the Tangsuyuk. Tasty but a bit chewy for his liking. I'd probably request them to make it extra crispy next time before adding the sauce. And lastly, we all shared the seafood pancake. It was SO good that we devoured it very quickly. What i did not like is the location. It's rather odd getting to the restaurant as you have to enter this building and find the steps to get upstairs. Additionally, the bathroom location is super creepy when the lounge is not open for business. It's just dark and scary. read more

Service: 5/5 Beef tofu stew: 4.5/5 Rib eye bibimbap: 3.5/5 Was a little hard to find (2nd floor) but was pretty satisfied with the food here. Restaurant is very clean and the waiter was very nice. Beef tofu stew- a plethora of tofu but minimal beef Bimbibap- comes in a stone bowl. Thought it lacked some flavor but still pretty good read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I like the spicy soups, stews & Banchan. Been here a few times and the food is consistently good. read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Amazing service! Got free side dishes and the kelp side dish was my favorite. I got Kal Gook Soo. Noodles were bouncy and the soup was very flavorful. Very filling and good value! read more

Dae Bak - Kal Gook Soo - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I stumbled upon this restaurant when in Chinatown near downtown Philly. The staff was really kind and knowledgeable about the menu. The Korean BBQ entree was already cooked so the guests didn't have to grill it themselves like at other restaurants. However the food tasted amazing and I would definitely go back on my next trip to Philly! read more

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This is from a while ago but I have tried Dae Bak two separate times. I think for dinner the prices are a bit expensive for what you get. The Korean food is decent being that its the only place in Chinatown to get korean food without venturing off to dubu. But nothing too exciting. I would give it a 3/5 since the taste is just average, and the price is $$ but my review is a 4/5 since the lunch special prices are more worth your buck! I attached a picture of my soondubu (tofu stew) I got during lunch once! They give you an array of side dishes. The space is big. I really enjoy the window view from above. I believe my total was under $15 after tax + tipping read more

Dae Bak - Soondubu - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Galbi Tang is a must get every single time you come here! The soup is sooo flavorful and the radish is cooked to perfection. The portions are perfect too. The service is also really nice! Place is clean. read more

Dae Bak - Galbi Tang - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Came here on a whim because we were hungry and craving some Korean food nearby. Glad we came here. All the dishes we had were very tasteful !!! We almost would've finished it all if we hadn't ordered this much! read more

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It was cool spring Saturday night with light rain misting over the neon lights of 9th street chinatown. We walked into chinatown square exploring the liminal hallways filled with vacant restaurant space until we stumbled upon the second floor restaurant, Dae Bok. Overall it was a great casual meal at a neat table with street views. - Great food. We ordered the shrimp fried rice and the steamed mandu. - Floor to ceiling windows make for a scenic meal - Table water served from a sippy cup - Dae Bak could use some decorating help. Kitchen supply boxes were all over the place, amazon light strips provided a color changing glow, and walls are covered with asian beverage ads - A fruit fly bothered us the whole meal - A two tone ding rings anytime someone new arrives like a convenience store - Waiter was frantically switching between sports games on the tv. Worried about his wagers? He was otherwise a great host - Shrimp too small. - Metal chop sticks (you already know i had to grip those) read more

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We had a great time here. The foods are delicious and great customer service. Highly recommend to go here. read more

Dae Bak - Korean Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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So I come here once a year with my mom and the food is great! The service is solid. The restaurant isn't huge and the location is a little weird (upstairs and you have to go through what you think might be a closed building) but once you're there, the place is bright and nice. read more